I’ve heard people refer to “Night” as one of Born To Run‘s lesser songs, as well the album’s “mistake.” It’s certainly a lesser song in terms of its relative lack of fame as compared to other iconic entries like Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, and the title track. Musically though, it’s a true E-Street powerhouse, with relentless drive and a somewhat unusual structure. It’s that lack of a traditional chorus, with the refrain ending with several variations leading up to “into the night,” that gives the song its own special forward inertia.

My favorite part of the song comes right after Bruce sings the first two words of “Somewhere tonight you run sad and free” in the last verse. There’s a short break with a distorted guitar wailing away, amping up the energy that explodes into the song’s conclusion. Pretty amazing stuff for one of Born To Run‘s supposed lesser tracks.

Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the woods of central New Hampshire. A past contributor to Jazz.com, Blogcritics.org and Salon, he originated several of our weekly features including the Friday Morning Listen, (Cross the) Heartland, WTF! Wednesday, and Sparks Fly on E Street. Follow him on Twitter: @msaleski. Contact Something Else! at reviews@somethingelsereviews.com.